Thursday, December 9, 2010

Smaller works = more artwork, reduced costs such as framing and paint.

You become more efficient e.g. taking photos of your still life set-up instead of leaving it set-up for the kids to destroy, painting straight from your computer screen.

In some cases increased exposure. My little set-up is close to the front door, the first thing anyone sees when they walk in the door is my latest creation.

In some cases, if your set-up is in your main living area such as mine, it's always in sight so if I'm washing dishes or cleaning in the living room an occasional glance can often reveal errors that I hadn't noticed before.

Close to the kitchen - easy access to copious amounts of coffee.

One major disadvantage to working in a small space... when the dog farts you've got nowhere to run!

First layer of new painting.

Look Ma, No Hands, unfinishedCopyright2010 Holly Hartwell

I'm really having fun with this one, the nice bright reds make a nice change. I'll continue to work on it over the weekend.In order to make my blog more interesting I'm adding a new addition called 'Did You Know'. Little snippets of useful (or useless) information about painting that you may/may not know.Enjoy.

Did You Know...It takes 3-6 months for an average oil painting to cease contracting and expanding before it dries completely. It was common practice not-so-long-ago to wait an entire year!

I'm hanging to do some larger and more complicated works and will be working on sketching out a new series over the Christmas break.

We've had a LOT of rain here over the past week and the local dam rose 10%!!

We took the kids for a drive on Sunday to check it out. Many of the roads that had been closed the day before had cleared and we we're able to drive around safely. The landscape has totally changed and looks a lot greener than it has in years which is great!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Yet again Crookwell has shown us just how strong our little art community is with over 70 artists, both local and from surrounding areas, submitting works for the annual Art On The Range exhibition. The standard of work this year was some of the best I've seen and once again the Crookwell Arts Council have done an amazing job of organising the event.

Opening night was well attended with the Food on the Range local produce table a huge hit. My kids particularly liked the selection of baked potatoes from local grower Gary Cadwell.

Blue and White oils on canvasCopyright2010 Lesley Gartrell

Soft Shade wood sculptural lightCopyright2010 Peter Collins

Beckoning of the Poplarsacrylic on canvas boardCopyright2010 Sally Wilson

Art on the Range is open for its last days 10-3pm Sat. 4th & Sun 5th Dec.If you happen to be in the area, call into Memorial Hall on Denison Street, Crookwell, NSW, Australia. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Friday, December 3, 2010

It used to happen all the time. I’d look at a fantastic painting and wonder just how they got the paint to come off the brush in just the right way? A single brushstroke and BAM, behold a fabulous painting!

Today I’m reviewing a book that I actually bought years ago but has given me so much guidance and taken my brush skills to a whole new level that I’m ashamed I’ve kept it a secret for so long.

As well as being a great artist, his knowledge of brushstroke technique is invaluable. Now you might be saying to yourself ‘How hard is it to pick up some paint and put it on a canvas?’ If I had of been taught just HALF of these techniques when I was at art school, I would be strokes ahead. And not just in my golf game!

Mark uses water soluble oil paints for all his painting demonstrations but obviously the techniques would apply to any painting mediums. Some of the topics covered are:

1.What to look for when purchasing a brush

2.Brush care

3.Brush shaping and paint loading

4.Brush angle and pressure

5.How to avoid paint ridges

6.Blending variations and rendering careful detail

7.Numerous demonstrations on still life’s, landscapes and the figure.

The mastery and skill shown in Marks paintings is testament to a thorough understanding of a paintbrush’s potential. And the worn and torn book cover on my copy of Brushwork Essentials is testament to how much I rely on these basic but much under-estimated skills.

About Me

Once upon a time, there was a wee lass named Holly. She didn't pick up a pencil and start to draw untill she was 17. She doodled for a few years before hanging out at some art classes where she got into a very bad habit of heading down to the local every lunch time and getting shit-faced on Baileys liquor. When paintings she'd accumulated starting exploding out of the cupboards she had a solo show and sold most of them on opening night. "Holy crap", she exclaimed. "This art thing ain't so bad". So she continued on her painting journey, stumbled, quit, painted, quit, painted, got screwed by a galley, quit, until she reached the here and now. An older (crankier), wiser (debatable), artist (always and forever). The End.